Washington Post: Whitney Tilson is a hedge fund manager and a member of Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength.

I am part of the 1 percent of the 1 percent. By that I mean that I am fortunate to be a wealthy American and I say, “It’s okay to raise my taxes.”

This morning I was at the White House supporting President Obama in his call for Congress to pass the “Buffett rule.” …. It would hit me hard….. Why am I okay with this? The answer has to do with simple math and basic fairness.

…. It’s not class warfare to say that people like me – who aren’t suffering at all in these tough economic times, who are in many cases doing the best we’ve ever done and who can easily afford to pay more in taxes with no impact on our lifestyle – should be the first to step up and make a small sacrifice.

…. I am grateful for the effective government we have in this country, which is the absolutely necessary foundation for our wonderful capitalistic economic system that has benefited me so greatly. And I’m willing to do my fair share – in fact, more than my fair share – to help rein in our deficits and put this country on a more sustainable path.

Paul Krugman: Here’s the bad news: Mitt Romney’s campaign is setting new standards in serial dishonesty. Really. He makes Bush look like a font of truth and accuracy.

Here’s the good news: reporters seem to have noticed, and – be still my beating heart – we’re starting to see reports that actually point out the distortions, rather than saying that “some Democrats” say that he isn’t being honest.

It was particularly gratifying to see the response to Romney’s ludicrous claim that Obama is anti-woman because women have lost more jobs than men since he took office. This was cherry-picking raised to the level of an Olympic sport….

….The core of Romney’s campaign strategy seems to be contempt for the news media (and the voters), the belief that he can say anything and pay no price – which was the way things worked for Bush. But maybe, just maybe, his calculation was wrong, and serial dishonesty will become, justifiably, part of the narrative.

TPM: It took tens of millions of dollars, years of preparation and three months of primary contests, but Mitt Romney is finally the GOP’s presumptive nominee. Now comes the hard part.

Romney’s first day of the general election turned into a stark reminder that Obama will be a far tougher opponent than the poorly funded, disorganized candidates he battled in the primary. Romney was outmaneuvered and forced off message throughout the day – beginning with a morning press call in which the campaign was caught flat-footed over a simple question about Romney’s position on the Lilly Ledbetter Act – overshadowing the economic message he was trying to push, with the gleeful help of an armada of professional Democratic operatives.

The Atlantic: So here is the president of the United States, enjoying canapés and small talk at Daniel, chef Daniel Boulud’s gourmet restaurant just off Park Avenue ….. “I have a question I want to ask you, Mr. President,” I venture, once I catch his attention.

“Sure,” the president says.

“Kanye or Jay-Z?”

The president smiles. “Jay-Z,” he says, as if the answer should be obvious….

“Although I like Kanye,” Obama continues, with an easy smile. “He’s a Chicago guy. Smart. He’s very talented.” He is displaying his larger awareness of the question, looking relaxed, cerebral but friendly, alive to the moment, waiting for me to get to the heart of the matter.

“Even though you called him a jackass?,” I ask.

“He is a jackass,” Obama says, in his likable and perfectly balanced modern-professorial voice. “But he’s talented.” The president gives a wink, poses for a few more pictures, and then glides away…..

A baby donkey named Demo by its owner, Silvio Carrasquilla, stands dressed as the mascot of the U.S. Democratic Party behind a poster of U.S. President Barack Obama, outside Carrasquilla’s home in Turbaco, near Cartagena, April 11. Carrasquilla, Turbaco’s former mayor who considers himself Colombia’s number one Obama fan, is sprucing up his house by painting it the red, white and blue of the U.S. flag to celebrate Obama’s arrival in Cartagena for the VI Summit of the Americas on Friday.

Oh, by all means, the honor is all mine! Really massive day ahead, but nothing compared to PBO and TOD! I’ll be back later to check on your work! Blessings to everyone. We will get it done. (Washington Caucuses on Sunday, I am unable to attend and am very sad about that. : ..(

My view on the Rosen kerfuffle: she was correct in what she said, and the Obama campaign was also correct to refute her remarks. President Obama established his meme that attacks on the candidates families is a no-no.

But at the same time, the Obama campaign and Democratic strategists should establish and point out the fact that Mitt needs to hide behind women to get their votes. You don’t see President Obama hiding behind female surrogates whereas Mitt needs female surrogates like Nikki Haley because he has at least a 20 point deficit with women.

Like it or not, the Republicans are not going to be playing with kid gloves, and I’m glad that Rosen attacked one of the elephants in the room, which is Ann Romney. Remember how the Republicans were claiming she was going to be Mitt’s secret weapon? It’s people like Rosen who remembered that meme and are attempting to crush it and crush it fast… this is the same set of Republicans who said that Sarah Palin was going to be their secret weapon, and we saw how fast that fizzled out.

Well said Nintendo. The GOP and MSM act as though women voters are so easily manipulated, that they’ll simply switch their votes from Obama to Romney because Rosen made an accurate comment about Ms. Ann?

Most of the poutrage is from the right wing that at the same time gets shits and giggles everytime Limbaugh calls our First Lady Moochele or the First Wookie. Then there was Allan West who attacked Debbie Wasserman Shultz and said she wasn’t a lady, no outrage from the right wing. Democratic strategists would be wise to point that out, that the right wing loves attacks on Michelle Obama and DWS, which are far more extreme and nasty compared to what Hilary Rosen said.

I had to go back to the last thread to see what this was about. Having done so, two things pop into my mind. Yes, Rosen was correct, although possibly a little bit too strong in her comments. A woman who has been a stay at home mom can still relate to women in general, so saying she can’t is too harsh. Secondly, as pointed out a few times, PBO has always said it is about the candidates, not the families.

I think the American people appreciate that. Plus, remember this was not a person in the administration, but rather a pundit. Theoretically, the administration doesn’t need to have a judgement on what pundits say, but at the same time, this provides a strong contrast between this adminsitration and the Republicans in general and their reaction to far more serious statements made by one Rush Limbaugh. The best Romney could come up with is that he wouldn’t have used those words, not making any statement about the intent of the words or the inapprorpiateness of going after Fluke period.

One thing about PBO, he can street fight with the best of them, but he works to avoid that if he can. Integrity is one of his primary characteristics that draws people to him.

perhaps…but if you are to be speaking for the campaign …one should stay on point…if you want to attack Mitt Romney on policy…then do so…

i do not agree that Ann Romney should be attacked because she could stay at home…of course there are women who would stay at home if they had the economic means to do so….there was malice directed towards Ann Romney…even if the other side attacks us with malice and rancor we should take the high road as the President has and continues to do …

As a working mother I am offended by a woman who says I chose to stay home and raise my five sons. There is an absence of choice for milliions of women all around the world who have to work and raise their sons and daughters. Being a full time mother is also not easy. I admire women who don’t have to work outside the home but her husband made it possible for her to stay home. He gave her a choice, something he would deny other women in America.

The Atlantic: So here is the president of the United States, enjoying canapés and small talk at Daniel, chef Daniel Boulud’s gourmet restaurant just off Park Avenue …..I get my chance to ask him the question of the moment, the question that everyone who has bought the album or spent $150 on a concert ticket wants answered. “I have a question I want to ask you, Mr. President,” I venture, once I catch his attention.

“Sure,” the president says.

“Kanye or Jay-Z?”

The president smiles. “Jay-Z,” he says, as if the answer should be obvious….

“Although I like Kanye,” Obama continues, with an easy smile. “He’s a Chicago guy. Smart. He’s very talented.” He is displaying his larger awareness of the question, looking relaxed, cerebral but friendly, alive to the moment, waiting for me to get to the heart of the matter.

“Even though you called him a jackass?,” I ask.

“He is a jackass,” Obama says, in his likable and perfectly balanced modern-professorial voice. “But he’s talented.” The president gives a wink, poses for a few more pictures, and then glides away…..

Morning TOD Family, morning Chips. Before everyone freaks out, just know this is good strategy by the Obama Team to call out Hillary Rosen & in the process they are setting out the standard how the general election is gonna be run. The Right Wingers like to insult Michelle when she goes on vacations with the Girls from now on we will see if Saint Ann & Liar Mittens will have the audacity to call out their mouthpieces. Axe & Mesina did show Leadership, now the ball is in Romney’s court to tame down the wackos in his townhalls who will ask him if PBO is a real American or if Michelle is entitled to take vacations on government planes with secret service. GAME ON.

Good morning Chips. Will you offer to be taxed 30% on your 9 million hits???? You of the inter tubes upper crust. Congratulations.
Thanks again for your hard work and dedication to the cause of supporting and electing the greatest president i have ever known.

Hillary Rosen was an Adviser to the Hillary Clinton Campaign.
What she said about Annie, would have been more appropriate, if She was sticking up for Hillary Clinton!
Thus, She has to realize, she does not work for Hillary any longer, and is a Democratic strategists for CNN!

Look, Rosen can say what the hell she wants. She’s a pundit and that’s what pundits do. When Grassley, a US senator called PBO “Stupid” we didn’t think it was Romney’s issue. And even if Romney had condemned Grassley, we would be praising Romney as being an independently minded person to distance himself from Grassley’s remarks; We would not view Romney as weak or playing to the DEMS, etc.

Yet there are some people on Twitter who are going mad that Axelrod and Messina distanced themselves from Rosen’s comments.

Are there still people freaking out on twitter today over that? I’ve been avoiding it, ever since the craziness last night. But, utaustin did a FANTASTIC job tweeting what we should be outraged about, and it really does make the so-called “outrage” from Ann Romney look petty, especially after one of her own “boys” made a racist birther “joke” about the President. That, plus her role in the Seamus story, makes me ill.

Well, anyone on Twitter knows how I feel about this and I am livid at Axelrod and Messina. Absolutely pissed off. Hilary Rosen is not a part of the Obama campaign. She hasn’t even donated to his campaign this cycle. There was no reason at all for the two of them to even comment on what she said. Rosen speaks for CNN, not the President. And by admonishing what she said, before they were ever even asked about it, they took ownership of her words. And they’ve put her words on the President. And what’s the first thing I see on tv this morning? The beautification of poor Ann Romney and pundits suggesting that President Obama has deep seated issues with women who are stay at home moms, unlike his
mother, and grandmother, and wife.

Axelrod and Messina got spooked by freakin’ Ann Romney starting a Twitter and took ownership of something they had nothing to do with. They kicked the ball right into Romney’s net. So now they’ve given the media and the GOP exactly what they’ve been waiting for. An opening on the War on Women. So now, we will have to deal with the false equivalence. “Well, Romney may have issues with women, but so does Obama because he has advisors who are so low they attacked Mrs. Romney and stay at home moms all over the country! Isn’t if fair to say that BOTH Romney and Obama have problems with women voters?!” Sigh.

This also plays in the this pathetic narrative the MSM has been trying to push: the idea that Ann Romney is some kind of force to be reckoned with. Well, apparently she is if she’s gotten President Obama’s top campaign people to run and demand a woman who doesn’t even work for them apologize for telling the truth about saint Ann!

I’m so ticked off about this. These kinds of unforced errors cannot happen! This is a rookie mistake I’d expect from the Romney campaign. They have now set a precedent that says the Obama campaign is responsible for random nonsense spouted by random left leaning pundits. How smart.

SMH.

This is what they should have done. Say nothing. And then when the msm asks them about it, mock the Romney campaign. Mock them for being so desperate that they tried to connect a random CNN pundit to the President of the United States. And then say you agree with Mrs. Romney, the smart one over there at Team Romney. And then run down all the stuff POTUS has done for SAHMs and families in general. It’s that simple.

Hi itgurl, I’m way behind on this story, I just heard Rosen’s comment and read Axelrod’s reply, but not Messina’s. To be honest, I think it was smart of Axelrod to tweet what he did, I think the comment was so offensive it was important to condemn it. The notion that women who work in the home have never worked a day in their lives is disgusting, I’m genuinely pleased Axelrod said what he did.

Totally agree, Chips, Hilary really blew it, women are on the side of the Dems and this comment just gives the Romney camp victim talking points. Plus, as a daughter of a non-working mom who raised five great children, it’s a ton of work and should never be minimized. I get what Hilary was trying to say but, she is not helping and she should immediately apologize.

Why the hell should Hilary apologize? The right wing haven’t apologized for their attacks on the First Lady, and they were far more harsh and nasty in their attacks vice what Hilary Rosen said.

Hilary Rosen said what needed to be said to crush the right wing meme that Ann Romney is their secret weapon, and I don’t see what we gain by attacking her comments with these knee jerk reactions. This is something I’d expect from the emoprogs, but we should know better. We’re not going to get by this season by playing with kid gloves and the spouses of Presidential candidates/Presidents are always fair game, especially considering that Mitt has needed female surrogates to get female support.

But nintendowii10, we’re way better than the right wing, so we don’t have to stoop to their level with offensive comments. The fact is that Hilary insulted every woman who has ever chosen to work in the home, rather than outside it. It was just a woefully clumsy attempt to criticise Ann Romney – who deserves criticism – that ended up offending so many other women.

It wasn’t a tweet amk, it was what she said on CNN about Ann Romney – she “never worked a day in her life.” In Romney’s case that’s most probably true, but the implication was that women in the home are bone idle.

I’m assuming what she meant was that Ann Romney had “never worked a day in her life” because she’s dripping in loot, but I think she should have been clearer – it was too close to sounding like “she’s never worked a day in her life” because she’s a stay-at-home-mother.

There is a difference between fighting fire with fire and dragging oneself down to the opponents level. Rosen gave the opposition an opportunity to say that Dems don’t think stay-at-home moms matter, which is ridiculous. I don’t care what the Republicans do in response to attacks on FLOTUS. Number one, they are directed towards her and not a general category of people. And she is out there in public so much, most Americans know her and like her, so the attacks don’t mean much. (One of my favorite parts of the Colbert experience was when he pointed out that her popularity is higher than PBO’s).

Trust me, the media and the RW would be making hay with Rosen’s comments and Axelrod and Messina were able to proactively state that the WH does not agree with eithetr going after family or the intent of the comments regarding stay-at-home moms.

It would have been worse if they hadn’t said anything until they were asked. Then, it would that they were forced into distancing themselves from ehr remarks, obviously for political reasons, but one might suspect they actually agree with them.

It actually would have been better if Axlerod and Messina had said nothing at all, because now the right wing will have some Republican rep that will plant the lie that Rosen is affiliated with the Obama campaign and Axlerod and Messina had to do damage control because Ann Romney scares the bejeezus out of them. itgurl really said it better than I could, it’s unneccessary knee jerk reactions that will embolden the right wing for a week or two. Now Mitt will be going on stage saying that the Obama campaign fears his wife, all because Axelrod and Messina had to react to a pundit who doesn’t even speak for the Obama campaign.

Okay. Let’s assume they said nothing. Then the Romney campaign states, see they didn’t reject it, they must agree with it, which shows they are scared of Ann and also against stay-at-home moms. And if, say Jay gets asks about it and then says, we dfeel that was inappropriate, etc, then it is, sure under pressure they say that, why didn’t they come right out and say something to begin with.

In reality, by doing what they did, they dispute the concept of being scared of Ann. They are saying we don’t believe family should be used as a weapon against a candidate. If they were scared of her, they would be more likely to tacitly support attacks.

Unfortunately, the right wing doesn’t think that way. They’re already saying that Rosen is an Obama campaign rep and Axelrod and Messina are apologizing for a mistake from one of their campaign reps and are already running with the meme that the Obama campaign and Democrats are afraid of Ann Romney. They should have said nothing until pressed about it, and then respond with something that has the effect of Mitt needing to hide behind his wife to win the support of women. Overall, a noble effort from Axlerod and Messina that will resort in the right wing having something to be gleeful about for a week or two or until President Obama himself decides to respond, if he decides to even acknowlede this at all.

The right wing would be gleeful in any case. And I think sayiong Romney needs to hide behind his wife would be a stupid thing to say. So, since it isn’t going to have any impact, adn will be over with in a couple days, why not do the noble thing?

Because the right wing have already been pushing the meme that Ann Romney is their secret weapon, and Axlerod and Messina’s responses have given the right wing all the power they need to solidify that meme, at least for a week or two… until Mitt makes the next gaffe that causes this to blow over. I admire that Axlerod and Messina wanted to do the right thing, but in this instance, it was not the practical thing to do… now the entire right wing media now is able to solidfy the idea that the Obama campaign and Democrats FEAR Ann Romney.

You’re thinking like a rational and fair human being. This is not how the GOP and MSM operate. The Obama campaign repudiated Rosen last night and yet the news today is that an “Obama campaign/DNC advisor” is attacking Ann Romney. This is what I would have done had I been in their shoes. I would have said nothing. And then, when they’re asked about it on the morning shows or whatever, I’d say “How pathetic is the Romney campaign right now? You know, American women have taken a look at Gov. Romney’s policies and proposals, and they don’t like what they see. And instead of actually coming up with campaign ideas that benefit women, they’ve decided to play games. Hilary Rosen does not work for this President. And she does not work for the DNC. She works for CNN. And they’re so desperate that they’re trying to link her to President Obama. It’s just sad. But you know, I’ll say this. Mrs. Romney is the one person over there in Romneyland who knows what she’s talking about and she’s exactly right when she says that being a SAHM is hard work. She’s so right. And that is why this President has done this, that, and the other to help women and families, and yada, yada, yada…..”

You mock the campaign. Then you praise Mrs. Romney as the true brains of that operation. And then you say you agree with her about SAHMs and run down everything POTUS has done to benefit them. You don’t say “Bad Hilary, you need to apologize!” when she doesn’t even have anything to do with the Obama campaign. All they did was help make Mrs. Romney a victim.

I keep hearing how this was the right thing and smart thing to do. If why, why is it that the only people who are getting any positive coverage out of this are Mrs. and Mrs. Romney?

When the Obama team does not respond it allows the other side and the so-called liberal media to make hay and turn it into an issue where there is none. I think it’s better for the Obama team to respond, Rosen can say and do whatever she wants, she is not on the OFA payroll.

Hi Edwina, the really stupid part for me was that Rosen could have just narrowed her comment to questioning how the wife of a millionaire could possibly know what the real world was like for women, instead of making a sweeping statement that implied women who work in the home contribute nothing. That’s why I think it was important for Axelrod to respond, if he’d said nothing he would have been painted as condoning the remark, this way the campaign can distance itself from it.

IMO as itgurl pointed out, Axelrod and Messina more or less projected Rosen’s words onto the President and took ownership of what she said. Rosen is a Democratic pundit who has nothing to do with the Obama campaign, so why respond at all? Now the right wing will have the fuel they need to say that Ann Romney scares the Obama campaign… I bet that is the meme for Limbaugh and all the AM talk radio pundits today, it’s Sarah Palin 2008 ALL OVER AGAIN!

“IMO as itgurl pointed out, Axelrod and Messina more or less projected Rosen’s words onto the President and took ownership of what she said.”

I honestly don’t think that’s what they did at all, condemning a comment doesn’t mean taking ownership of it, unless it came from someone working for the campaign. If they didn’t respond to what she said then Limbaugh and Co – and the Romney campaign – might have had some ammunition against them, how can they attack them now when they’ve made their position clear on Rosen’s remarks?

Axlerod and Messina speak for the campaign, thus their reaction to a random dem pundit who attacked Ann Romney will play into the meme that Ann Romney is their secret weapon. And the right wing will have some Republican pundit who will plant the lie that an Obama campaign rep (Rosen) attacked Ann Romney and Axlerod and Messina had to refute said rep and BLAM! There is your right wing false equivalence set in motion, all because Axlerod and Messina had to have a knee jerk reaction over a comment from a Dem pundit not affiliated with the Obama campaign. They’d been better off not saying anything at all, then when pressed about it, respond that Mitt is so desperate that he’s hiding behind his wife to win the support of women, or a response that gets that point across.

There was already a fuss about what Rosen said, Axelrod and Messina regularly respond – or are asked to respond – to controversial remarks, their choice this time was to say nothing or condemn it. Again, I think if they chose to say nothing they – and the campaign – would have been accused of being indifferent to the comment, and of somehow condoning an attack on Ann Romney and all women who work in the home. It probably would have been the first question for Carney today: is the campaign’s silence on a Dem pundit’s remarks a sign that they approve or are indifferent?

This way, they have immediately distanced the campaign from what Rosen said, which, to me, is a very good thing.

And the notion that Ann Romney is Willard’s ‘secret weapon’ is just a laughable meme elements of the media are trying to push – I doubt the Romney campaign even believes it themselves.

Nintendo, how did they project her words on to the President? They didn’t. They may try, but that doesn’t mean they will succeed.

If Romney camp had condemned Chuck Grassley’s “PBO is stupid” remarks, would you have seen this as the Romney camp being afraid of Obama as a reason for their condemnation of the remarks? No we would have seen it as a sign of maturity and integrity on the part of Romney.

The RW demagoguing this reflects poorly on THEM, not on OBama/Axelrod/Messina. It’s the people who are attacking Axelrod/Messina who are making this about PBO rather than about the MSM and it’s desperation – which is where the focus should be.

I totally agree with you, Hopefruit. It’s a reflection on the GOP that they didn’t respond to the idiotic comments from Grassley, or Limbaugh, or the Romney son. It’s a reflection on the Obama campaign’s higher standards that they won’t tolerate even the hint of a slur against women, stay at home or in the workplace moms. I have no problem with the way the campaign handled it. They’re dealing with a super-sensitive, super-exploitative GOP, and a worthless media who act as their puppets. Getting into the mud only makes us look bad. Rising above it should always make us look good, and be better. I don’t understand those who want to win, more than they want to be right.

Obama setting the standards is a given. But rethugs following such standards is definitely not. So preemptive apologies for what some dem pundit said is an unnecessary defensive posture. Either way the thugs and the msm are going to run with it. So why not just turn the table on them, as you smartly pointed out in your second graf and go on the offensive ?

Axelrod and Messina made this the President’s problem when they admonished a person who has absolutely nothing to do with the campaign. By admonishing Rosen, they made it look like the Obama campaign, and thus the President, had attacked Ann Romney and stay at home moms. Jay Carney will be asked about this for certain now. POTUS will be asked about this for certain. They created this problem. Not the MSM, not Ann Romney. Axelrod and Messina did. And that’s why I’m pissed.

It’s one thing to have to deal with all kinds of things that go wrong during campaigns. It’s another thing when the problem occurred because you decided to go and kick the ball into your opponent’s net and give them a free goal. Especially when you were running away with the game. If they have to deal with problems, it should not be because of rookie mistakes like this.

And as I responded to Chips, the right wing will now be running with the meme that Ann Romney scares the Obama campaign. Yes, Messina and Axelrod may have had a noble intention by refuting her remarks, but they just projected the idea that since they are affiliated with the Obama campaign, they are afraid of Ann Romney. Thus why I predict that Limbaugh and the rest of the AM talk radio jocks today will be running with the meme that the Obama campaign and Democrats are afraid of Ann Romney.

That too. This plays right into that nonsense the MSM and GOP were pushing so hard this month, the idea that Ann Romney is a force to be reckoned with. They just gave legitimacy to that crap by letting her push them into demanding Rosen apologize. Ann Romney got on Twitter and put on the fake tears and they totally fell for it. They look ridiculous this morning.

I just can’t agree on this one Itgurl. If they chose not to condemn Rosen’s remark that would have been read as either indifference or approval, I think they did exactly the right thing. How can the RW tie the Obama campaign to what Rosen said when both Axelrod and Messina criticized her?

As I explained above, all it takes is a Republican pundit saying that Rosen is affiliated with the Obama campaign and Axlerod and Messina being forced to do damage control. I bet that’s the headlines on Fox (Not) News, Redstate, Sludge Report, “Obama Campaign Rep Slams Ann Romney With Sexist Remarks, Obama Campaign in Damage Control Mode.” It really is that simple, and Axelrod and Messina should have known better.

Well, of course they’ll try to push the ‘Damage Control Mode’ line, that’s what they do (lie) – but the fact that Axelrod and Messina came out so early to condemn the comment immediately distanced the campaign from it. The much bigger story for the RW media today would have been if they said nothing at all. The minute Rosen said what she did the RW were going to run with the story any way, Axelrod and Messina’s intervention didn’t cause the stir.

Fully agree. If you are going to be in a damned if you do and damned if you don’t situation, do the right ethical thing, which is what they did. In fact, their reaction does three things:

It proactively tells the world that the President and the campaign do not agree with Rosen.
They are definitely not scared of Ann Romney.
That they are willing to state their disagreements without being asked, unlike Romney who really can’t even distance himself from a scumbag like Limbaugh even when he is asked.

Now when Jay is asked about this today, he can say that we have already let you know our views. And he can make thiose same points, if he chooses. Same with PBO.

Exactly. It would have been honorable to demand an apology if someone who actually works for the campaign had made that statement. Rosen has NOTHING to do with the campaign or the DNC. It was totally unnecessary for them to even go there. They say chose your battles wisely. The problem is, Messina and Axelrod chose a battle that wasn’t even theirs!

I don’t watch msm or read msm. But I have today because I was so pissed at the total unforced error I watched Axelrod and Messina make last night. And just as I predicted, Ann Romney is being heralded as a saint, Romney campaign is being praised for putting Obama campaign on the ropes, and pundits are accusing POTUS of being the real guy with the issues with women. What Axelrod and Messina did last night was put this mess all over the President. They didn’t “distance” him from anything. They made it an issue and a problem for the President. It’s all that’s being talked about today and it’s ENTIRELY negative for the President and ENTIRELY positive for Ann and Mitt Romney.

This, this THIS!!!! Now the President is going to be forced to comment on this himself, all because Axlerod and Messina at the very least, chose the wrong manner for their responses. A rookie fumble that won’t hurt us in the long haul, but it gives the right wing the power as you posted to claim that they were right all along, the Obama campaign and the Democrats FEAR Ann Romney.

I just wish someone, other than a hack from Politico, would explain to me what’s to fear about Ann Romney. Seriously, what on earth has she done or said so far that would give anyone the idea that she’s going to be a formidable foe in the campaign?? She’s hardly someone regular American women can relate to. She’s a women of privilege far removed from real life. She’s ‘two Cadillacs’ Ann, and if she tried to persuade women that she understands their struggles she’d be laughed out of town. I don’t believe for a minute that Axelrod, Messina or anyone in the campaign is remotely concerned about her, and the MSM are going to have a tough job trying to push the meme. Their response to Rosen defended those ‘regular’ American women who work in the home, not Ann Romney. I wouldn’t worry about her too much.

The President has told them that family issues is off limits!
They plan to use FLOTUS often in the Campaign trail, and she is apparently very sensitive to taking crap from the Righties.
They are just setting parameters for Michelle.
Or at least, that is what they are hoping!

I have always enjoyed Hilary Rosen very much; so for the sake of her career and for the sake of the momentum that the Democrats are enjoying with women, the prudent and actually decent thing would be for Hilary to say she “mispoke”, not double-down and defend her comments. We should strive to be better than those who attack us in small minded ways and when we make a mistake, the honorable thing to do is to own it. None of us are perfect but PBO helps us keep the bar high and I am quite sure that the president would never say such a thing about women, even wealthy ones, although the RW will try to pin Hilary’s statments on him and all Dems.

This is what I am talking about, Rosen isn’t even affiliated with the Obama campaign yet now the right wing has gotten the lie across that she is, and since Axlerod and Messina condemned her remarks in a harsh manner, the right wing now have the power to say that the Obama campaign and Democrats are afraid of Ann Romney. They should have either said nothing at all until pressed about it, or not be so harsh in their condemnations… maybe injected a bit of humor that ends up mocking Mitt for needing female surrogates.

Rosen does not work for the Obama campaign and she doesn’t work for the DNC. She works for CNN. Axelrod and Messina admonishing her makes it look like she’s on the Obama2012 payroll and that they’re responsible for her. It was beyond stupid. And all day today, Rosen is being referred to as an Obama/DNC advisor. That is a complete lie, but the repugs say she works for the President and Axelrod and Messina made it look like she works for the President.

While the general trend on initial unemployment claims over the last few months has been largely encouraging, there have been occasional setbacks. Today’s new report is the most discouraging in a while.

Indeed, while last week’s initial estimate was the best report in four years, the new figures are some of the worst of the year to date.

We are at the beginning of month four of the year, so reports saying that the figures are the “worst of the year to date” is a little misleading. I heard an economist this morning saying that people shouldn’t freak out too much, and should look at the overall trend information. She explained that the warmer weather in the early part of the year resulted in a lot more hiring, so there are some adjustments happening. She wasn’t overly concerned. I think it might be useful for these analysts to also show what year over year stats looked like, too. It’s one thing to follow a statistic from month to month, but when you see that same statistic year over year, it puts the whole thing into perspective,because these things are cyclical.

Just two short weeks ago, economists were raving and projecting an improving economy. We’ve all seen that the economy just normally doesn’t move very fast, so when there are fluctuations, we have to be patient. There are a lot of factors at play (kids studying for exams and spending less time at malls, gas prices, Europe demand slowdown, seasonal factors – more people doing family stuff and spending less on consumer goods) – and in this election year, it’s convenient that the media are reporting a bad economy just when Romney is trying to pivot to discuss the economy. That may or may not be a coincidence…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration says it is saving taxpayers billions of dollars in improper payments to vendors and contractors, the result of a concerted attempt to reduce errors and instances of fraud in outside expenditures. To better coordinate the effort among executive agencies, it is launching a new online tool to cut waste.

The administration planned to announce Thursday that agencies have already exceeded President Barack Obama’s goal, set in 2010, of recovering $2 billion in overpayments to contractors by the end of September. The administration has already reported that the government reduced its rate of improper payments in 2010 and 2011, potentially saving $20 billion over the period.

The nation’s largest labor federation is bolstering its super-PAC as the 2012 election season kicks into high gear.

On Thursday, the AFL-CIO will announce that the Workers’ Voice super-PAC is bringing on new staff and revving up its presence online.

Eddie Vale, a former AFL-CIO communications operative, is joining the super-PAC as communications director. Tim Tagaris, once a new media director for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), will become digital director.

As House Republicans drive around their districts during the April recess, 14 of them will see billboards attacking them on Medicare and tax cuts for millionaires, courtesy of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The billboards will remain up for all of April, and target Republicans facing vulnerable reelections. GOP Reps. Charlie Bass (N.H.), Sean Duffy (Wis.) and Steve King (Iowa) are on the list, as are Dan Lungren (Calif.) and Steve Southerland (Fla.).

Love the Columbian O-bot. What an adorable donkey — s/he looks like s/he’s enjoying the role of Obama mascot. Too cute — little knock-knees and all. I still can’t imagine what it must be like to be PBO and have admirers all over the globe. It’s really mindboggling to me.

This is all that matters. The rest is bullshit. I’m extremely worried about that.
And I really can’t understand their decision not to issue that EO about the ban on gay discrimination at work place. Bad decision both on the merit and the politics.

Yes! The Election will be about Jobs. But, then the question is- what is the plan to get Jobs?
It reminds me of Harry Reids election, where Nevada had 14.1% unemployment, most in the Nation.
But, he defined Angle early on, and had a different view of policy matters.
One thing OFA has done, is define Robney as a Rich out of touch regressive robot!
I think if Reid can win under those circumstances, so can the President.
Also, it’s the gas prices that has effected the jobs picture, this past month.
Albeit, several articles say gas prices have peeked…

I agree. This is DADT all over again. We don’t need this nontroversy in an election year. And President Obama is wise not to succumb to pressure to issue an EO just to pander. This needs to be addressed in congress – with a LAW. Not an EO that the GOP can and will reverse in 2016 if given the opportunity.

Not only that, but they want the President to say he is for marriage equality.
And the Democratic Platform blah blah blah.
Also, their was a conservative group who is trying to sew seeds of discord between the Gay Community and the AA community!

collegekay I think we need to refrain from these stereotypes about the AA community not approving gay marriage…that’s an illusory correlation but it’s not systematically accurate. More white evangelicals, catholics and mormons despite LGBT more than AAs, yet you hardly hear those stereotypes. Same sex marriage was legal in Washington DC – with more than 50% AA population, more AAS than any other US jurisdiction, even BEFORE PBO took office.

Since PBO repealed DADT, he has not lost AA votes – has he? He has done more for the LGBT commuinity than any other president and has the AA community solidly behind him. It’s not because of the AA community he’s going about this the way he is. He wants the a congressionally supported LAW, not an EO. That’s just his modus operandi.

And as I said, the jurisdiction with the highest proportion of AA residents already recognizes same-sex marriage. President Obama is not using AA’s feelings one way or another about gay marriage to guide his decision making with regard to legislation.

If the president doesn’t support gay marriage, it disappoint me tremendously and goes against everything I know about him, but I can’t ask him to endorse it. But, the Democratic Party platform MUST support gay marriage IMO.

Luckily there is some movement in the direction of getting marriage equality on the National Platform. Some high-profile party people are starting to come out in support of it; and on the grassroots level there is growing support. Both must happen. It will be an uphill battle, though, because there are still plenty of badly misinformed Democrats who don’t support marriage equality and are prepared to fight having it put on the Platform. This is why being involved in the Party matters.

If the “base” can’t appreciate what this prez has done for lgbt issues and under what circumstances, then the ‘base’ can go fuck itself. This man has already shown the right way of doing these things. If they’re so clueless as not to recognize that, then they’re worthy to be ignored.

That’s not the point. The point is to help fire the base up. This is what the Right does so well. The only thing that matters is winning the election. There’s no logic reason to this decision. It won’t end up like DADT – So it’s bad policy – and it’s disappointing many real supporters. So what gives?

The base should be fired up by the alternative to President Obama. If they withhold their vote despite getting a lot during a very difficult legislative term, then they deserve to experience the alternative that they’ll get from the Republican party. There is just too much at stake to cater to the fickle among the base at this time. This issue is just way too loaded to try to take on. The President has called on Congress repeatedly to overturn DOMA. He’s already done a lot in the Fed government. And he’s clearly respectful of gay rights. There’s a time for pragmatism, and that time is now.

It would have been a one week story if Axerold & Mesina didn’t condemn the language. If those reporters doing interviews with PBO today ask him about Ann Robney he will shower her with praises because that’s what he TRULY believes in thus throwing a rotten egg in the MSM’s face. I love my President.

Yeppers. Here’s the thing. In the next seven months people are gonna run their mouths on TV and the media will try to spin something out of it because that’s what they do. Next week it will be something else, and another thing the week after that. Frankly I just can’t gin up any emotion on this one way or the other.

What Mr. Moffitt, from the Heritage Foundation, had to say about Romneycare…

MOFFIT (HERITAGE FOUNDATION): We’ve been honored by your request…to participate in giving our best advise and our technical assistance in designing a new and different kind of health insurance market. A market that is patient-centered and consumer-based, which will ease access to affordable coverage for thousands of Bay State citizens. This is new. It’s a new market, where individuals and families will be able to own and control their health insurance and take it with them to from job to job… Nothing like it has ever been attempted anywhere else in the United States. So Massachusetts has raised the bar for every state in the union. And that’s the applause you’ve given to your public officials here today is going to echo far beyond the hallow halls of this historic place.

Re Ann Romney, I saw that her first tweet was, and I quote, “I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work” (h/t LGF).

And for that, Ann Romney can go straight to hell and take her fucking toothbrush with her. Not for the staying-home bit, not for the hard-work bit, but for the “choice” bit. This clueless idiot and her elephant’s ass of a husband have all the empathy, and half the appeal, of a couple of clumps of rusted barbed wire. News flash, Ann: I made the choice to stay home with my son too. And you know what that makes me? Not good, not virtuous, not heroic, but flat-out straight-up 24-karat LUCKY, you airheaded dolt. All those women who aren’t staying home with their kids? They’re doing that because they CAN’T, because all those oh-so-wonderful and beneficial policies of ALL you Republicans have so bolluxed up this nation that ALMOST NOBODY is freaking ABLE to stay home with their kids, unless they’re collecting a fucking welfare check, you stupid broad. And the small minority of women who actually do have the choice of staying home and are still working, well, maybe you’d better actually talk to them, among all the women you supposedly talk to, and maybe you’d get a picture of women as being more complicated and multifaceted people than you, or your wind-up mechanical gizmo of a husband, are. Cretin.

And this is why what Axelrod and Messina did was a positive thing. This guarantees it will come up in the press conference and in discussions with PBO. It sets up the following response.

“First of all, we disagree with what Rosen said. Stay at home moms do work hard. Mrs. Romney, fortunately, had the opportunity to majke the hoice to be a stay at home mom. Unfortunatekly, many women who might prefer to focus full time on raising their children do not have that luxury due to the economic policies of the Republican Party. And they want to double down and make it even harder for women to have the actual ability to make that choice. If women want to enter the work force, they should have that opportunity and, if they do, receive the same pay and promottional opportunities as men. If they want to stay at home, they should be able to do so without sacrificing the ability to offer their children a comfortable life style. Too many families have been forced into having both parents work due to Republican policies.”

Of course, they can craft better language than I can, but you get the gist.

I never had a moment’s doubt about Obama hitting this off the ground, japa. I also do not disagree on what axelrod and messina did. I just question their timing. In spite of their well-intentioned pushback, that wouldn’t shield the president from the third rate fourth estate. What do you expect him to say, when the inept media klowns ask him about this ? “That question has already been answered by my campaign team ?”. No, the media whores would still want where “he stood” on this meaningless crap.

That’s where as itgurl pointed out, they shame the Romney campaign while at the same time agreeing with her stance on SAHMs. Then the right wing media wouldn’t have as much fuel to say that the Obama campaign is losing support amongst women.

shame what? the repug party? shame who? Willard and his mouthpieces? Sometimes I wonder what planet we reside on. Shame doesn’t work with these freaktards. You’ve gotta preemptively strike while the iron is hot and before they can brand you with whatever sludge and slime they can come up with. We agree on many things, Nin. This isn’t one of them.

Okay, everybody is saying by doing the repudiations they tied this to teh Obama campaign. But apoprently not, from what you are saying, as the repudiations are being mentioned. So no harm in doing the repudiation, right? Yet, the record is there and can be pulled out whenever there is a question.

Their ill-timed repudiations only drew more unwarranted attention without actually benefiting the president. Do you think anyone in the media is gonna say, look, how gracious they were in repudiating this ? No, effing way. They are just gonna present it as a proof that Obama campaign is attacking all wimmin. Yes, up is down and left is right with the fucking media.

Anyhoo, the minds are already made up about this and so let’s just leave it at that.

Thank you for that amk, I feel the same way. The Romney camp is grasping at whatever they can hold on to. I think in the end it will come back to bite them because the facts speak for themselves and flip-flopper, pathological liar Mitt Romney can’t run away from what he said and done these past months.

Last year at this time, we were all lamenting how the administration was allowing Donald Trump to control the message about PBO’s birth certificate. 24- 7 the carnival barkers were on that topic. Then what happened?

Almost two-thirds of registered voters nationwide have a positive impression of First Lady Michelle Obama. 65% have a favorable view of Mrs. Obama while less than one in four members of the electorate — 23% — has an unfavorable impression of her. 12% are unsure.

Mrs. Obama’s favorability rating is consistent. When Marist last reported this question in October, 63% of registered voters in the United States thought well of the First Lady. 21%, however, had a less than stellar impression of Mrs. Obama, and 16% were unsure.

“The First Lady may be the president’s best asset,” says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “With numbers like these, expect her to have a high profile on the campaign trail.”

Good, Hilary shouldn’t apologize for her remarks about Ann Romney, but perhaps she was a bit too harsh about her comments about SAHMs. But Axlerod and Messina shouldn’t apologize again, otherwise we’ll be hearing the “Apologizer in Chief” talking points again from the right wing.

They didn’t apologize. What should they have done, ignore it until questions were asked? They could have, but then the RW would have pounced on why it took so long. The RW was going to jump on this no matter what. Doing what they did shows class and provides opportunities to turn this into a positive. Waiting would have made it worse.

Timing is everything… they should have waited until the media decided to parade Ann Romney as the new Republican party rockstar, then taken the opportunity to shame the Romney campaign while agreeing with her stance on SAHMs. Now the right wing jocks will be talking about how much of a star Ann Romney is and how the Obama campaign fears her.

I’m not picking on you Nin, because lord knows I love you and we see eye to eye on most things concerning PBO and the admin, but seriously, why are you so upset about this particular incident? Mrs. Money was well on her way to being the Rightwing Nutbag’s rock star anyway. Weeks before we were all on here mocking the right wing for saying she was what Dems were afraid of. We even watched her stupid little ad and laughed our asses off. She’s still as stupid and still as sleazy as her husband and she still won’t connect well with most average Americans no matter how much she milks this shit.

President Barack Obama leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 49 – 40 percent in the New Jersey presidential race, a lead that shrinks to 49 – 42 percent if Gov. Christopher Christie runs as Romney’s vice presidential pick, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

There is a large gender gap with or without Gov. Christie on the ticket. Men would vote for a Romney-Christie ticket 50 – 42 percent, while women would vote for President Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden 55 – 35 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Independent voters split 42 – 42 percent.

“It’s pretty much all over but the shouting in the Republican presidential primaries, but if Gov. Mitt Romney owns New Jersey in June, President Barack Obama takes command in November. This still looks like a reliably blue state,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

LOL! If Christie is selected as VP, his obesity will become an issue (even though it really shouldn’t be). And while he may shrink PBO’s lead in NJ, he may widen it elsewhere in swing states like Ohio, NC, and FL.

I think his obesity may be a factor in talking about his ability to take over if something happens to a “president Romney” (heaven forbid), but I think his bullying demands more attention. He’s totally unlikeable. I find nothing redeeming in that man, and pairing him up with lying, coreless Romney would make me sell my TV until Nov 7.

Elizabeth on the View is actually screaming about this now—–going wild on it! And Whoopi jumped in to support Ann Romney too. I am sick of this subject. It’s so ridiculous—–what some former Clinton supporter clumsily said on CNN becomes this huge topic?——it’s so unimportant and has nothing to do with President Obama’s views or his campaign. It’s going to be a looooooonnnnng, nutty presidential campaign season.

Elizabeth and Romney are part of the MSM. Their bread is buttered by corporate media – so of course they’re gonna obey Karl Rove’s instructions. Didn’t Whoopie support Rush when he attacked PBO for supporting Sandra Fluke?

And this is why Axlerod and Messina should have chosen their manner differently in refuting what Rosen said. Now the entire media will be pushing the right wing meme that Ann Romney is the Republican Party’s new female rockstar, and it will be Ann Romney 24/7!

This is not about Axelrod and Messina. They did just fine. And as for Ann being the GOP female rockstar, we saw how well it worked out for Palin, didn’t we? One of the most despised females by election day… Yeah, I say bring it on – Ms. Ann!!!

I am sure nothing Axe or Messina could have said or not said would stop the media from pushing the rock star meme. Just as I am sure it will fail! The president does NOT attack family, full stop and period. The president supports ALL women, including republican stay at home socio-economically priveledge and or fortunate ones. When you’re winning the support of women and their economic, health and cultural rights you do NOT divide that support, by letting ANYONE say something that can be spun as bad mouthing stay at home wives and mothers.

We need more republican women to stand up and refute their party for it’s WAR ON WOMEN. They are already trying to punish poor women through withholding health care and financial support. In general they make laws that get between a woman and her doctor, and her own good conscience and god.

It’s not about the spouse, at least not from the president, his campaign suragates or the democratic party! We do nothing to assure victory by playing the old game stay and work at home moms vs work outside and inside the home wives and moms. Stop and full period.

This is not Axe’s and Messina’s fault. Stop saying that. Most people are not going to dig deep about this issue and all they will hear is that “stay at home moms don’t work hard”. THAT is the perception and THAT is what Axe and Messina are condemning because its not true.

Axelrod and Messina made this an issue. It was a terrible move on their part to help Ann Romney on her quest to Victimville. They were wrong to comment on this because they put this issue all over the President.

No. They. Did. Not. This would have been an issue one way or another. Willard knows he and his wife have no general likeability. They needed something that would make them appear sympathetic, that PUMA Rosen gave it to them.
ps- I’m getting tired of all the Axe and Messina bashing. I’m thinking they know more about running campaigns and messaging than we do. After all, they did help to get President Barack Obama elected.

Hey TOD, don’t get into these murky issues meant to distract us from the fact that we need to be working to reelect Pres. Obama and exposing the truth about Romney. Yeah, Rosen’s statement may have some veracity to it, but she made a stupid political gaffe. Axelrod and Messina were correct to distance themselves and the Obama 2012 campaign from her statements. PBO has always said that families are off limits. She could have pointed out that Ann Romney coming from a very privileged background would have no idea how to relate to the average working woman who struggles to put food on the table, clothe, and educate her children.

That’s not the outrageous issue we should be focusing on. You know what’s outrageous? Romney was hesitant in supporting the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that provides equal pay for women, Romney wants to defund Planned Parenthood, Romney supports the idea of the supreme court overturning Roe v. Wade, Romney doesn’t support the Buffett Rule which makes bosses make their fair share in taxes and relieves the burden off secretaries, Romney doesn’t support the Buffett Rule which could provide funds to educate and train future female math teachers, female science teachers, and female engineers, Romney supports the Blunt-Rubio Amendment which is anti-women, Romney hasn’t condemned the 1100 anti-women bills and laws being proposed and enacted by GOP state legislatures, Romney supports the Ryan budget which guts safety programs for middleclass and working class women. Romney supports Scott Walker in WI who has been a terror against women’s rights.

This is what we should be focusing on, emailing, facebooking, and tweeting about. I certainly have been doing so since yesterday and today. You can use my tweets to come up with more ideas. My twitter handle is @utaustinliberal. Let’s focus on that fight because it’s real, not some 24 hour cable generated chatter.

And I agree that the focus needs to be on the media and Mitt Romney, not on Axelrod and Messina. Since this morning I’ve already been tweeting CNN and MSNBC about their failure to call out Willard for his flagrant refusal to condemn the GOP’s continued war on women.

I believe the tweet was sarcastic, which is how I took it: where’s your plan for women without nannies and trust funds?

No one is picking on Ann Romney for staying home to raise her kids. But the majority of women with children have to do everything she did PLUS help pay a mortgage, a car payment and health care and school supplies and………….

Ann Romney had freedom from worry. Most American families worry all the time. Not everyone has a ‘choice’ to marry a multi-milionaire. Although as she tells it they ‘struggled’ early in their marriage: why they had to sell off some of their investments!

So the tweet was not about the nontroversy of the benefits of being a stay-at-home mom, but how someone who wants to be President is going to answer the needs of the vast majority of American families.

Can someone point me to the apology from Axelrod and Messina? I saw them distance themselves from Rosen’s type of comments, but I didn’t see an “apology” per se for her behavior. I was a bit distracted yesterday so I guess I missed it ,so if anyone has a link, I’d appreciate it. Thanks.

The folks attacking Axe and Messina are folks who will never vote for PBO anyway. That’s why they are making this such a BFD. I think this whole poutrage by the Romney folks will backfire. The women who called in to Stephanie’s show this morning were not on Romney’s side.

OK, THANKS so much to all of you. I thought I was missing something important.

I suggest we move off this BS ASAP. The RW is framing this brouhaha because, basically, they are bone dry after Romney’s airless debut yesterday and they need to grab the spotlight. I’m DONE with their BS.

Well, Hilary has certainly suceeded in pulling focus, even here. This will be a BFD for days and I am so glad that Axelod et al immediately distanced themselves. Hilary’s underlying point was valid but the first rule of effective communication is don’t obscure your pov by being inflammatory. I have lost all respect for Hilary with her doubling-down; it tells me that she cares more about her ego than the potential hurt that it will cause Dems. What we don’t need is a new RW martyr and Hilary’s graciousness or lack of it will determine the length of the
RW martyrdom.

Good morning TOD,
I really think this whole story of Ms. Rosen comment has become a distraction. I am not sure why so many are upset with the campaign’s response. That was the sensible thing to do. I agree that they were also setting boundaries to protect FLOTUS. Remember how strongly the president spoke against attacking the Palin’s children during the 08 campaign. Ms. Rosen is a pundit. She should be able to express herself and understands that there may be backlash with unpopular views. The campaign wasn’t being “amateurish” by distancing themselves from the comment either. No, the right wing will not appreciate it because they want to use it as an opportunity to create confusion. They haven’t been effective with answering why women voters are distancing themselves from the GOP. So, they will hang on to whatever they can and we shouldn’t give it some air to expand. We must remain focus on the big picture. Mrs. Romney could afford to choose to stay at home and raise her children. That must be nice. Most women can’t afford that choice.
BTW, I loved FLOTUS on the Colbert report last night. That’s the most nervous I’ve ever seen him. I didn’t expect that since Michelle has been on his show before.

Wow, have we finally reached a tipping point with Mitt Romney’s lying, distoring and making stuff up? What happened yesterday with the Romney campaign conference call with reporters should be the template going forward. This was long overdue. It’s not that complicated. When the Romney campaign makes an outlandish claim or an outright lie, any self-respecting journalist should challenge them and ensure the facts are reported to the American people.

What this incident revealed is that the Romeny campaign is on the wrong side of the issue and they have nothing substantive to work with. They looked like complete amateurs. They just didn’t think through what they were doing. And clearly, they didn’t expect to get much pushback from the press. It’s remarkable what can happen when “real journalism” breaks out. Paul Krugman’s article was spot on. The contempt that Romney has for the media and the voters is really shocking. I have never seen anything like this before. Romney is the “Jon Lovitz” presidential candidate. Mendacity has become his stock-in-trade.

He really is a gaffe machine automaton and apparently so is every member of his staff. I’ve never seen a more tone-deaf, bull-headed, gang of idiots in my life. Ridonculous. Especially when you consider the press is practically buying them lunch every single day.

IMO, Axlerod’s and Messina’s responses towards Rosen’s comments would have been more appropriate (and less fuel for the right wing) if they had ridiculed Ann Romney for not raising five kids with a limited income, pointing out how Ann said not long ago she doesn’t consider herself “really wealthy” while agreeing with Ann Romney’s position on SAHM’s, as opposed to completely refuting Rosen’s comments.

Rosen had a point that was badly worded, but Axlerod and Messina’s response were equally bad. Instead of taking the opportunity to ridicule Mitt for hiding behind women and Mitt’s deficit approval amongst women, their responses, noble as they were, just gave the right wing the fuel they need to solidify Ann Romney as their secret weapon and their new female rock star. And to think we’ve got eight more long months of this BS from the right wing!

“IMO, Axlerod’s and Messina’s responses towards Rosen’s comments would have been more appropriate …. if they had ridiculed Ann Romney for not raising five kids with a limited income, pointing out how Ann said not long ago she doesn’t consider herself “really wealthy” while agreeing with Ann Romney’s position on SAHM’s…..”.

Oh crikey, Nintendowii, if they’d attacked her like that they’d have been no better than Coulter and Co.

I don’t want them talking about her at all, but I’m still happy that they defended stay-at-home-mothers.

Correct. In actuality, attacking her, or even talking about her directly in any sort of a negative way, including talking about Romney hiding behind her, woudl send the message that they are afraid of her far more than what was done.

No, there is on need to go after the woman. They should have ignored this nonsense instead of taking ownership of it. And then where they were asked about it, they should have praised Ann Romney for raising her 5 sons as a stay at home mom and then run down a list of all the incredible things this President has accomplished on behalf of families and women.

No one took ownership of it. They showed leadership and a keen sense of political adroitness in swiftly distancing themselves from Rosen’s hot potato comments. What Rosen said it true in a lot of people’s opinions. However, just because it’s true doesn’t mean you go on national tv and blare it out for all the world to see. It wasn’t a polite thing to do. For all I absolutely dislike Mrs. Money, she isn’t the candidate, her idiot husband is. Stick to mocking the candidate on tv, leave his fool wife out of it.

In case the image isn’t self-explanatory, Team Romney took a look at all the job losses and gains in the American economy, starting on Jan. 1, 2009 (three weeks before President Obama was inaugurated). The Republican campaign then got creative: because male workers saw a more sudden increase in job losses at the beginning of that calendar year, Romney carefully chose the starting date for his analysis that exaggerates the results.

If he’d started on Feb. 1, 2009, to reflect Obama’s first full month in office, the number for women would have been 300%, instead of 92%. The Romney campaign knows no one would believe such an absurd figure, so they manipulated the figures accordingly.

The scope of its creativity and dishonesty is almost impressive, in a shameful sort of way.

And likely that $12M is just the surface. God knows what he’s hiding in Cayman Islands, Switzerland and elsewhere. His total income for the year was $21.6M. PBO’s was $1.7M.

The fact that McCain camp switched to Palin after reviewing Romney’s tax returns is a huge red flag – that there’s something VERY revolting to the average voter in this man’s financial record. And I’m not talking about his car elevators.

this Hilary Rosen thing is another case where supporters of POTUS are doing the official campaign surrogates like Axelrod and messina a disservice.

They did not APOLOGIZE for what Hilary Rosen said. They did the same that POTUS would say which is that they do NOT agree with rosen and they called the remark exactly what it was, inappropriate and uncalled for. That’s it and that’s all.

Let not do the Romney campaign’s job for them. The campaign answwered and that should be it. The MSM will ask of course, but the campaign will do what it should, which is say what Axelrod and Messina did and then pivot to the real world issue at hand, that Romney policies would do nothing for working women AND stay at home moms…period. The campaign will pivot to how Obama’s policy help the AVERAGE stay at home mom (of which Ann Romney IS NOT!!!) more than Romney’s.

Don’t get into the game of making this more than what it was an unfortunate statement. Say it was unfortuante, and Just keep it moving. Using words like “stupid” and “unforce” does NOTHING, but play this thing on Romney’s terms.

It’s not true that you win an argument by just fussing and making big long statement about. Say your piece and walk away. If there is no one to argue with, then they are arguing with air, and who argues with air…crazy people. Most logical people don’t listen to the crazies.

Just keep it moving…i.e. wasn’t FLOTUS great last night on Colbert Report!!!

Y’all need to calm down. The net effect of Rosen’s comment is that any woman paying attention now know that Romney’s wife has never earned a paycheck in her life, which means that the claim that she understands women’s economic problem is bogus. The only people who will show a faux outrage are conservative stay-home mums, and those will never vote for BO even if he turned out to be Jesus.

FYI – I have been reading this site for over a year but never posted before. I now use you guys as my one-stop shope for domestic political news.